Live data from Hacker News

Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

studyfinds.org

221–230 of 292 posts

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shake to undo and also shake to report a problem and also shake to report abuse . It does different things in different contexts. I can see how this could be confusing. vs. Right click > copy; right click > paste ctrl / cmd -c; ctrl / cmd -v Which, in my experience, are (almost?) universal. If your a keyboard native like me, you probably find text entry and editing on mobile fucking sucks .

Apple mice only had 1 button because they said they didn't want to confuse people. And nowadays? Multi fingered gestures, long presses, etc. What a shit show!

Hahahaha! Great comment.

To be fair though, expecting anyone to be consistent from one moment to the next is a pretty tall order ;)

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#222
post #163
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

To the people downvoting this: why is this an unreasonable perspective? The commenter isn't advocating one way or another, only pointing out that there are people that exist who are content with work as their self-perceived life meaning. I can absolutely see how this can be true for people in the sciences. There are many academics who devote their entire career - and often their life - to finding the answer to extrem…

I guess there is work under employment (or as a founder, or whatever), and then work outside of this.

Considering a large definition of work, when you are cooking, cleaning your house, taking care of your children or grandchildren, maintaining your free software or participating in your association in your "free time", you are still working, only perhaps with less strings attached for some of these things, and unpaid for that (note that you can see your retirement leave as an indirect payment).

And that is very comforting to me: you can still work as a retired, on things meaningful to you, without anyone telling you what to do.

And sure, you may have the chance to pick a (paid, employed, founder's) job that is meaningful to you. Best to ensure that you'll still be able to achieve meaningful things to you (on your own) after you leave that job if this is important to you.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#223
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us see work as the meaning of life. Traveling and doing things just for the experience alone seems kind of meaningless. Great for vacation, but not great for long term goals. Perhaps if you're at a dead end job, then work might feel meaningless, I agree.

Work is the way you contribute back into society. Going to work and doing my job is my way of knowing that I'm giving back into the system that allows me and my family to live. I find it far more fulfilling than anything else. Hobbies I hate. By definition I'm an amateur and I don't perform well. At my job, I get to exercise the skills I'm best at. I can't do any old job though. I have to be able to trace at least a…

> Hobbies I hate. By definition I'm an amateur and I don't perform well.

If you love doing something (which is the origin of the word "amateur"), you're likely to be good at it. If you're a professional, it just means you get paid.

Amateurs care primarily about the pursuit itself, while professionals care primarily about their paychecks.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree. I have so many interests and so little time. I can't wait until I can retire so that I can focus on the things that really interest me. I'm hoping to form groups of like minded people with similar hobbies. I envision my future as one of those old dudes playing chess in the park, except chess would be replaced with one of my many interests.

I also have this intention. I am about 15-20 years from retirement but I have palpable fears that I will forsake my dreams of doing something creative, falling into the rut that I've seen my older relatives and friends follow. You do meet the odd creative and intelligent senior but they are the minority. I hope I fall into that category when I retire!

> I also have this intention. I am about 15-20 years from retirement but I have palpable fears that I will forsake my dreams of doing something creative, falling into the rut that I've seen my older relatives and friends follow.

I really hope to shift down from 5 days / 40 hours a week to something that allows me to start pursuing my dreams long before I retire. It should help me develop the habit instead of being paralyzed by the sudden shock at an older age.

Actually the thought of having to wait to retire & be an old fart before you can get really started on the things you always wanted to do sounds very very depressing. (Unless you're making FU money and retire early, which I'm not)

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and no. Your statement is true about under-the-hood stuff, but false about user interfaces. Your phone interface is not like Windows 95, still less like a green screen terminal talking to a mainframe.

LOL. Downvoted? I think most people browsing HackerNews will not be freaked out by minor UI changes 30 years from now. Even a 3 year old child can figure out how to use an iPad.

I'm 34 and already sometimes freaked out by minor UI changes.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#226
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe your father will be sharp in other things not computing. I will have good level of computing when i reach +75 but well, maybe newer concepts will escape me a little bit but maybe i have other skills that are even more sharper than you can imagine.

There haven't been any fundamentally new concepts in computing for decades

A lot of people spent their entire lives looking at a screen, performing some operations and little else. Above all people from the banking sector, where everything is organized in a hierarchical way. I remember bankers who only had one screen with a summary and that's all they saw before. Today everything has changed, as everything is done through computers, but if your father is an older person, he probably hardly ever used computers.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#229
post #222
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To the people downvoting this: why is this an unreasonable perspective? The commenter isn't advocating one way or another, only pointing out that there are people that exist who are content with work as their self-perceived life meaning. I can absolutely see how this can be true for people in the sciences. There are many academics who devote their entire career - and often their life - to finding the answer to extrem…

I guess there is work under employment (or as a founder, or whatever), and then work outside of this. Considering a large definition of work, when you are cooking, cleaning your house, taking care of your children or grandchildren, maintaining your free software or participating in your association in your "free time", you are still working, only perhaps with less strings attached for some of these things, and unpaid…

I think ones health and perhaps even perception of its imminent decline makes people avoid commitments such as taking a role in their association that requires some activity. The same may mean people in their retirement do not engage in long term projects.

As for cooking, cleaning etc one can optimise those activities to do them almost mindlesly I imagine.

Re: Early Retirement May Speed Up Cognitive Decline: Study

#230
post #71

Yeah I'm on a few months break from working and the most unexpected downside is the uptick in existential dread I've experienced.

I'll anti-anecdote that. I've just started working a steady office job again after a 15 year "break" (mostly non-office work; raising kids) and existential dread is eating me. I had a couple of months interim and despite being dirt-poor in that time (no income practically) had no dread at all; too little time to get existential!

1. Raising kids is work.

2. It may be that it's the change in routine and identity is what's dread-inducing, more than the "work" (traditional/office/wage-labour) vs. "not work" distinction.

Post reply on HN